As of 13-11-18, I was sharing APK files on WhatsApp, for testing apps within a circle of people, with no problem whatsoever. But as of today, if I try to open an apk, I get an error toast saying: > You may not have the proper app to view this content. Did they change their policies and decided not to let people share APK files on their platform? I don't use third party websites for sharing APKs, where mostly Chrome spooks most people saying that "This type of file may harm your device".

Since .apk is a regular executable file, I was more than sure that I will be able to trick mobile Gmail in the same way as I was able to trick PC version of Gmail years ago to force it to send a PC executable (.exe) which it prevented as well. Turned out, I was wrong. Usually changing file extension to .dat or some other or compressing it with password (encrypting file) was enough for PC version of Gmail. However, for mobile version, everything that I have ready at a hand and tried failed as well: - sending as plain file (obviously), - changing .apk extension to .dat or some other, - compressing with ZIP with no password, - compressing with ZIP (ultra compression) and encrypting archive with a password, - compressing with 7ZIP (ultra compression) and encrypting archive with a password, - using an [7 years old idea](https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/35818/are-password-protected-zip-files-secure#comment55859_35818) of double compression: - compress .apk file into .zip file without password, - compress resulting .zip file again into another .zip file with password / encryption. If mobile Gmail is able to detect that I am sending .apk executable file even in 7zip compressed file with password (or it can prevent me from sending such file for any other reasons) do I have any option left? Is there any way to send .apk file over mobile Gmail (attach them to message composed in mobile Gmail)?

There is a .xapk file in APKPure and here is the corresponding app on Play Store . I can install it using Play Store. But other approaches of installing this app fail (SAI_v4.5 and other installers), and about 20MB (the size of the .xapk file) is lost after installation failure. I got the error > INSTALL_FAILED_ABORTED: User rejected permissions when installing split APKs (.xapk) on my Oppo Reno4 SE 5G running Android 12. # example commands to install split apks pm install-create pm install-write 18911812 base.apk /data/local/tmp/base.apk pm install-write 18911812 split_1.apk /data/local/tmp/split_1.apk pm install-write 18911812 split_1.apk /data/local/tmp/split_1.apk pm install-commit I tried to install it using ADB, and although pm install-commit returns with a Success message, the app is not fully installed. When using ADB, "Verify app over USB" is turned off. I noticed this error when installing split APKs using a custom app installer from storage. But now I found this error also occurs when installing a normal .apk file (I didn't notice this because I am using Android's default package installer). However, .apk could be installed successfully (at least it seems like it). How to solve this?

On Github, I've found a work where someone creates different Overlays for Android phones. [Github Overlay Folder](https://github.com/LineageOS/android_frameworks_base/tree/389031749dcf106c1e35950b36df2d8fb2222759/packages/overlays) When I go to the first subfolder [Subfolder](https://github.com/LineageOS/android_frameworks_base/tree/389031749dcf106c1e35950b36df2d8fb2222759/packages/overlays/AvoidAppsInCutoutOverlay) the AndroidManifest.xml for example looks like: and the Android.bp package { default_applicable_licenses: ["frameworks_base_license"], } runtime_resource_overlay { name: "AvoidAppsInCutoutOverlay", theme: "DisplayCutoutAvoidAppsInCutout", product_specific: true, } Furthermore, there is a res folder with multiple sub-folders, strings.xml and config.xml files. It is said that a RRO package has to be created and moved to /vendor/overlay/ using e.g. Magisk. Now how can this package including those files be created? And do I have to create an .apk containing every subfolder, or just the files and folders located in a subfolder? Beside all subfolders, there are also "Android.bp", "CleanSpec.mk" and "OWNERS" files in the upper "Overlays" folder

Following my previous question on how to make the weather widget work again on my Samsung Galaxy Alpha, I have researched about app reverse engineering including Java and Smali as suggested by the answer there. By following this tutorial , I was able to get to the Smali code, make a slight modification to it which I hope will resolve the javax.net.ssl.SSLException: hostname in certificate didn't match error I was getting, and then get to my modified and deodexed .apk. Essentially, the command I executed were:

7za x WeatherDaemon2014_LMR.odex.xz
oat2dex.bat WeatherDaemon2014_LMR.odex temp.dex
java -jar baksmali-2.0.3.jar -a 21 -x temp.dex -o deodex

At this point, I edited the \deodex\com\sec\android\daemonapp\ap\http\HttpClientThread.smali file. Then I executed the below, which gave me the deodexed .apk:

java -jar smali-2.0.3.jar -a 21 deodex -o classes.dex
7za u -tzip WeatherDaemon2014_LMR.apk classes.dex

I am however unfortunately getting a Class not found when unmarshalling: com.android.packageinstaller.InstallFlowAnalytics error when trying to install the modified APK. I have also tried uninstalling this system widget first with Titanium Backup, but the issue remains the same. (This actually corrupted the widget which couldn't be restored, and I had to re-flash the stock ROM to get back to the starting point.) Therefore rather than trying to install the APK, my goal is now to directly replace the WeatherDaemon2014_LMR.odex.xz file located in /system/app/WeatherDaemon2014_LMR/arm/, hence my question of how I could re-odex my APK. I have tried to follow this tutorial but am getting a only position independent executables (PIE) are supported error in step 6. Then I tried the solution here , but am getting the same error in step 5. Researching this error leads to suggestions to compile with the -fPIE option enabled, but I am unsure how and where to do this. Can anyone familiar with app reverse engineering suggest a way forward? Is there a simple way I can get to a .odex.xz file from my modified APK? Apologies if I'm missing something obvious, or if anything I said above isn't making sense, as I am still new to reverse engineering.

First of all, let me emphasize that _I AM NOT TRYING TO PIRATE ANYTHING._ My situation is that I have [this game](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.disney.starwarsrebels_goo) which needs to be updated, but I have been failing to finish the update every single time. My guess is that the Internet connection got disrupted midway through downloading the OBB file, and Google Play app is not equipped to perform a resumable partial download. It really gets tiresome after a while. I tried installing the "[APK Downloader Extension](http://codekiem.com/2014/08/07/official-apk-downloader-v2-download-apk-files-from-google-play-store-to-pc/) " but it either failed to login (on Chrome) or does nothing (on Firefox). If there's a way to get the URL of the OBB file, I can use Firefox's DownThemAll, and manually transfer it to my phone. So, to repeat the question: Is there a way to download the OBB file without using the Google Play app on the phone?

I'm facing trouble installing a modded APK if the same app is already provided in stock ROM. I'm using Micromax Canvas E481, not rooted yet. It has the JioSaavn app already installed. I uninstalled it to install a mod version of JioSaavn. But I'm getting the error "App not installed". However, the same APK is working on my other devices. The same is happening for playstore.apk. *JioSaavn* is not a system app, it's just provided in ROM by Micromax. From application, it gives the option to uninstall it. I can install APK for any version of *Saavn,* it's just not letting me install the mod version. If I modify it using Lucky Patcher, it won't install it, but it will let me install the original APK for any version bypassing the pop-up from ES Explorer. When I tried installing it from ADB:

C:\Users\Syed\Desktop\adb-tools_treiber\adb-tools>adb install C:\Users\Syed\Desktop\Saavn.apk
4451 KB/s (11231546 bytes in 2.463s)
        pkg: /data/local/tmp/Saavn.apk
Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE]

C:\Users\Syed\Desktop\adb-tools_treiber\adb-tools>
C:\Users\Syed\Desktop\adb-tools_treiber\adb-tools>adb install C:\Users\Syed\Desktop\playstore.apk
3648 KB/s (9862605 bytes in 2.639s)
        pkg: /data/local/tmp/playstore.apk
Failure [INSTALL_PARSE_FAILED_UNEXPECTED_EXCEPTION]

It's one of those thoughts you have just before nodding off to sleep. How would I do this?

I have an APK of [Unlimited Call Log 3.1.1](https://apkhome.io/unlimited-call-log-3-1-1/) , but I am unable to install it on Samsung Galaxy S24+ running Android 14. When I tried to install it, an error comes: > App not installed as app isn't compatible with your phone. Can anyone help to solve this issue or upgrade to new Android level?

I want to know can we attach a debugger to an app running on the smartphone which is published over Google Play Store ***without modifying the original app***? The reasons for asking this is by default the app which is there over Google playstore are non debuggable, i.e in the AndroidManifest.xml file, either they won't have android:debuggable flag or if it is, then it will be set to **false**

I want to keep using my old banking app and want to avoid any updates. So I exported (extracted) the current app with ApkExtractor, but I realized that I cannot reinstall the exported APK file. After some digging it turned out that ApkExtractor exported just the base APK which was insufficient for this banking app. So I went for Amaze which is able to export the split APKs as well. So I exported the entire APK set of the banking app, combined the resulting APKs into one single APK file with Antisplitter. Antisplitter is useful as it signes the resulting APK as well. Now with this APK file I could reinstall my banking app, at least Android says that the installation was successful. But if I start the banking app it throws a security error message. What is still missing? The method I described above works fine for several other split APKs like Facebook, etc., but it doesn't work for my particular banking app. I understand that banking apps are sensitive, but I would like to understand what prevents the reinstallation. Can it be something with the signature? Is so, is there any way I can directly export the original installer APK from Google Play? Unfortunately it's unavailable in APKMirror, APKPure, etc. I know I should use the latest banking app, but I still would like to understand what is going on here. Thanks!

I have a phone named Tecno Spark 7T running Android 11. When I tried to install the APKs, I noticed I couldn't install because of this error > Package Installer not working Afterwards, I have tried SAI (Split APK Installer). It gives the proper error > Couldn't download in FRP

When sourcing .apk files from 3rd party sites such as [APK Mirror](https://www.apkmirror.com/) or [APK Pure](https://apkpure.com/) , is there a way to verify whether said files are tampered with, from a potential malware inclusion point of view? As an example, let's analyze [this YouTube package](https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/youtube/youtube-18-45-43-release/youtube-18-45-43-android-apk-download/) . It lists signature(s) and claims they're verified, but what to compare the hashes _against_? How does the community generally navigate this topic?

When you try to install an APK, not from the Play Store, you would need to allow your phone to install from unknown source. I'm looking for a technical definition of "unknown source". - Does it refer to an APK that is not signed by the Play Store's private key? - Does it refer to an APK that is not signed at all? (Is that even allowed?) - Does it refer to an APK that is signed with a default Android test key? It would be especially great if the answer goes into the actual Android code that does this "unknown source" judgement.

I'm trying to install an apk file on my device, and I'm able to press the Install button, but after a few seconds, I keep receiving this error: > App not installed. What is the root cause of this issue and how can I fix it? I know [this StackOverflow question](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4226132/app-not-installed-error-on-android) is related, but that question deals more with the development aspect than the consumer installation aspect of the error.

In an app called App Cloner, I am trying to toggle ON "Install automatically." When I try to toggle, I get a message of being redirected to Android Accessibility, where I can enable or disable this service. I go to **Android Accessibility**, but it is grayed out, set to OFF. I tap on it to see the message: > **Restricted setting** > > For your security, this setting is unavailable. > > Harmful apps might ask you to change this setting to get your personal data. This setting can't be changed unless you allow restricted settings in More options for specific apps in Settings > Apps. I go to Apps in settings and I can't find an option of "More" under settings or in the app itself. I do have other apps under Accessibility turned ON, but those apps were from the Play Store. If it's relevant, I have a Samsung Galaxy S22+ on Android 13.

The latest update of Google Maps is unavailable in my country, so I downloaded a version by googling for "Google Maps 5.4.0 apk". I did in fact find it, but now I wonder how I can tell if this is in fact the same version as in the market. How can I be sure that it hasn't been tampered with? Are apps signed in any way? Is there any way of checking the signatures?

I'm attempting to reinstall com.google.android.gsf (Google Services Framework) on my Android device using ADB, but I keep encountering this error:

adb: failed to install com.google.android.gsf_15-35_minAPI35(nodpi)_apkmirror.com.apk: Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE: Existing package com.google.android.gsf signatures do not match newer version; ignoring!]

Interestingly, when I verify the signatures of both the new APK and the existing APK on the device using apksigner verify --print-certs, they are identical. Here are the details:

(base) PS C:\Users\x> apksigner verify --print-certs "D:\x\Downloads\com.google.android.gsf_15-35_minAPI35(nodpi)_apkmirror.com.apk"
Signer #1 certificate DN: CN=Android, OU=Android, O=Google Inc., L=Mountain View, ST=California, C=US
Signer #1 certificate SHA-256 digest: 7ce83c1b71f3d572fed04c8d40c5cb10ff75e6d87d9df6fbd53f0468c2905053
Signer #1 certificate SHA-1 digest: bd32424203e0fb25f36b57e5aa356f9bdd1da998
Signer #1 certificate MD5 digest: f026fdcf21375f987164c84da76ef5fd
Source Stamp Signer certificate DN: CN=Android, OU=Android, O=Google Inc., L=Mountain View, ST=California, C=US
Source Stamp Signer certificate SHA-256 digest: 3257d599a49d2c961a471ca9843f59d341a405884583fc087df4237b733bbd6d
Source Stamp Signer certificate SHA-1 digest: b1af3a0bf998aeede1a8716a539e5a59da1d86d6
Source Stamp Signer certificate MD5 digest: 577b8a9fbc7e308321aec6411169d2fb

(base) PS C:\Users\x> adb shell "pm list packages | grep gsf"
package:com.google.android.gsf
(base) PS C:\Users\x> adb shell "pm path com.google.android.gsf"
package:/data/app/~~XUohexMH35YRG11Tz5anTA==/com.google.android.gsf-9p6W7xLYfLz3hewFtmEMVw==/base.apk
(base) PS C:\Users\x> adb pull /data/app/~~XUohexMH35YRG11Tz5anTA==/com.google.android.gsf-9p6W7xLYfLz3hewFtmEMVw==/base.apk
/data/app/~~XUohexMH35YRG11Tz5anTA==/com.google.android.gs...ile pulled, 0 skipped. 33.6 MB/s (4165872 bytes in 0.118s)
(base) PS C:\Users\x> apksigner verify --print-certs .\base.apk
Signer #1 certificate DN: CN=Android, OU=Android, O=Google Inc., L=Mountain View, ST=California, C=US
Signer #1 certificate SHA-256 digest: 7ce83c1b71f3d572fed04c8d40c5cb10ff75e6d87d9df6fbd53f0468c2905053
Signer #1 certificate SHA-1 digest: bd32424203e0fb25f36b57e5aa356f9bdd1da998
Signer #1 certificate MD5 digest: f026fdcf21375f987164c84da76ef5fd
Source Stamp Signer certificate DN: CN=Android, OU=Android, O=Google Inc., L=Mountain View, ST=California, C=US
Source Stamp Signer certificate SHA-256 digest: 3257d599a49d2c961a471ca9843f59d341a405884583fc087df4237b733bbd6d
Source Stamp Signer certificate SHA-1 digest: b1af3a0bf998aeede1a8716a539e5a59da1d86d6
Source Stamp Signer certificate MD5 digest: 577b8a9fbc7e308321aec6411169d2fb

Note: The pm list packages command does not display hidden system packages, so it only shows the user-installed or updated version of com.google.android.gsf. To see all instances, I used dumpsys package packages | grep -E "Package \[|versionName=" | paste - - | grep gsf, which revealed two instances: - Package [com.google.android.gsf] (ec252b0): versionName=15 (user-installed or updated version) - Package [com.google.android.gsf] (248eb70): versionName=15-11962157 (hidden system package, codePath=/system_ext/priv-app/GoogleServicesFramework) I suspect the hidden system package might be interfering, but since the signatures of the new APK match the user-installed version, I’m puzzled about why the installation fails. #### What I've Tried: 1. Ran adb install -r -d to allow downgrading, but the same error occurs. 2. Cleared the package data with adb shell pm clear com.google.android.gsf, yet the issue persists. 3. Confirmed the device is not rooted, so I can not just uninstall the package and reinstall it. #### Questions: 1. Why does the installation fail with a signature mismatch error when the signatures of the new APK and existing user-installed APK match? 2. Could the hidden system package be causing this? 3. Are there other factors—like version codes or system protections for com.google.android.gsf—that I should investigate? Any help or suggestions to successfully install the APK would be greatly appreciated! #### Additional Details: - **Device**: Vivo X100 Ultra - **Android Version**: Android 15 - The APK is sourced from APKMirror.

I'm trying to install an .apkm file through adb in Windows 11, for example:

.\adb install "C:\Users\aes12\Downloads\com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox_15.32.37.28.arm-301381721_6dpi_1feat_d6ce31e208513f475be14d3c76d6ae3d_apkmirror.com.apkm"

I get the error: > adb.exe: filename doesn't end .apk or .apex I understand that .apkm files are essentially zip-bundled .apk files. I've also found that I can use .\adb install-multiple (get-item *.apk) to install multiple .apk's. However, I need to unzip the .apkm file first before I run the command. How can I do that in Windows 11 through PowerShell?

I have a rooted (Magisk) Fairphone 5 running the Fairphone ROM. I installed F-Droid using adb. I cannot update F-Droid itself from with in F-Droid. From F-Droid I have tried to install OI File Manager, LinPhone, and Easter Eggs. They do not install and the only feedback I get is "package installer keeps stopping". I also downloaded the [OI File Manager apk from the github site](https://github.com/openintents/filemanager/releases) directly to my phone and tried to install it from AOSP file manager with the same results. I am allowing installing APKs from unknown sources in settings. I *am* able to install apks using

. I ran

logcat

when trying to install OI File Manager and found two possible errors:

NotificationService: Cannot find enqueued record for key: 0|org.fdroid.fdroid|1|https://f-droid.org/repo/org.openintents.filemanager_40.apk|10195 

PackageParser: Unknown element under : meta-data at /data/user/0/org.fdroid.fdroid/cache/apks/f-droid.org--1/org.openintents.filemanager_40.apk Binary XML file line #63

I have also installed [SAI](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aefyr.sai.fdroid/) which gives more detailed error messages and it says "Can't install packages while in secure FRP" But since it is happening with different APKs, I am not sure how to proceed to fix this.